Category Archives: Travel

The 12 Worst Things About Travelling

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Full disclosure: I hate reading travel blogs.

Let me be more specific. I hate reading travel blogs unless I’ve got a holiday booked and they’re about somewhere I’m going/want to go. Then I can’t get enough. But unless that’s the case I avoid them. What’s to like about someone else (who’s probably prettier than you) gallivanting across the globe to experience new cultures, eating amazing food and generally having a real good time about it?! They can charitably spare a few minutes to smugly write it all up for the people watching on from their desk jobs and Saturday night television. Bah! Humbug! Unless it is someone dear to me, I am the Scrooge of travel blogs.  Continue reading →

Long-haul flights are a certain kind of hell

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I don’t want to be smug or anything, but I’m on a month long European holiday. I’ve sunned myself through Croatia, yodelled through Austria, and am about to hit up Germany before moving onto the UK. Ok I lie… the whole point of going on holidays is to be smug about it to everyone. That and to experience different cultures and have a pretty awesome time doing it – I suppose. But my smugness really came back to bite me on the flight from Sydney to London. Here’s what happened.

Flying anxiety, take-off delays and knowing I had a middle seat didn’t suggest a breezy flight, but the promise of what I was heading towards kept me cheerful. Continue reading →

The Do’s and Don’ts of Backpacking Packing

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It’s been a few years since I bought a one-way ticket to a new continent, strapped on my large backpack, and went exploring. *sigh* While this makes me sad, I thought I’d pass on some of the things I’d learned about how to pack your backpack.

Packing

Don’t take more than 15kgs: You’ll really feel those extra kilos when you’ve arrived in Lisbon with no accommodation and are schlepping to the third floor of ten different pensions looking for a room (definitely earned my Portuguese tart that day). Also some of the cheaper airlines have a 15kg limit on checked baggage with hefty fines if you inch over this weight ( and there are only so many pairs of pants you can wear at one time). Continue reading →

10 Ways to Make Friends in a New City

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Moving to a new city where you don’t know anyone is harder than trying to look cool after you’ve just tripped over in a public place.

Depending on your circumstances, you might be starting from scratch with nowhere to live, no job, no bank account, and (if you have just spent 6 months backpacking like I had) no money. Every step of the move has big challenges.

Once you have a roof over your head and a source of income (go you good thing!) you will celebrate with all your mates! Or you would, if you had any friends. Continue reading →

Something fun to do on a hangover

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Here is something neat you could do after a rather large night out in friendly Las Vegas. Simply pay a nice lady $440 (USD) and take a 45 minute ride in a helicopter to the Grand Canyon. At first it’s a pretty casual ride. That is, until the nausea kicks in. Usually right above Hoover Dam when you are busy taking in the scenery. Don’t worry. There are little paper bags to spew into so you don’t get it on the pilot accidently.  You will need these.

Continue reading →